Giants stunned in final minute on Stefon Diggs' TD catch, lose to Commanders at MetLife Stadium
Rasul Douglas of the Washington Commanders intercepts a pass intended for Malik Nabers of the Giants late during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026 in East Rutherford, N.J. Credit: Jim McIsaac
It’s been the case all year for the Giants. So many one-score games where they’ve trusted the defense to step up.
It nearly happened again Thursday. The Giants got interceptions on consecutive defensive possessions in the fourth quarter. But they needed a third straight stop and didn’t get it, with Stefon Diggs scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 57 seconds left.
As Diggs turned his back and slowly fell into the end zone, the Giants sank with a 24-21 loss at MetLife Stadium. J.J. McCarthy sealed the fate with an interception to Rasul Douglas with 34 seconds left.
Gone was the Giants’ two-game winning streak. Gone was any good feelings about McCarthy’s career-high 293 passing yards or Cam Skattebo’s first multi-touchdown game this season. It also kept the Giants (5-3-1) from expanding their first place lead in the NFC East.
“We had opportunities at the end of the game to close it out and we didn’t,” said Skattebo. “It’s simple as that. We just got to execute better and be better as football team.”
Jevon Holland and Ar’Darius Washington had interceptions that could’ve sealed the game. They were also the Giants’ first interceptions since they had three in Week Four. It was Holland’s fourth of the season.
Instead, the Giants went three-and-out after each takeaway, failing to chew up enough clock in the process. Jayden Daniels, who threw his first interceptions of the season, responded after the second punt with a three-play, 71-yard drive.
Diggs caught the 32-yard touchdown pass after separating from Dru Phillips. The drive was aided by a pass interference penalty by Deonte Banks that gave the Commanders 33 extra yards.
Three of the Giants’ wins this season — games against Cardinals, Titans and Eagles — were sealed by defensive stops in the final minute. This time, the Giants got stops but not on the Commanders’ final possession.
“You can’t let it bring you down,” John Harbaugh said of not being able to increase the lead in the division. “Our spirit is going to be fine. We’re going to be good . . . I feel bad about the loss. It’s going to be a long weekend. It’s going to be tough to watch all these games. But you can’t overthink it.”
The collapse offset strong performances on offense. Skattebo had two rushing touchdowns in his return from a hamstring injury. McCarthy finished 23-for-36 passing. Tight end Isaiah Likely had a career-high 127 yards on nine catches.
McCarthy was nearly the fourth-quarter hero. On 3rd-and-7, he threw a 66-yard touchdown pass to Likely to give the Giants a 21-17 lead. It was the longest completion of McCarthy’s and Likely’s career.
It was also the Giants’ longest play from scrimmage since Dec 31, 2023, when Darius Slayton caught an 80-yard touchdown. Yet the Giants couldn’t finish what the defense gave them. It didn’t help that Jordan Stout’s punt after the second three-and-out went just 12 yards.
“When you want to be one of the best teams in the league, you need to be able to ice the game when it’s there to be iced,” Likely said. “Obviously when you give teams life you give them hope to win games and that’s what we did toward the end.”
Skattebo finished with 78 rushing yards and 44 receiving yards. It was his second multi-score game of his career after scoring there touchdowns last year on Thursday Night Football
He opened the second quarter by puking on the Giants sidelines, the result of a pretzel-wrapped hot dog that he ate before the game. He shook it off to score on a one-yard touchdown that capped a 16-play drive.
Skattebo’s second score was a 13-yard scamper that set off a triple backflip celebration with him, Malachi Fields and Darnell Mooney. But mistakes and miscues loomed large.
Malik Nabers had the ball punched out after a third-quarter catch and Jeremy Reaves recovered it for the Commanders (3-5-1). It was Nabers’ first career lost fumble and the Giants’ seventh lost fumble this season, tied for third-most in the league.
The Giants had three fumbles in the game, with Likely and Greg Desrosiers’ drops recovered by the team. They have an NFL-high 17 fumbles this season.
Dominic Zvada also missed a 33-yard field goal wide left on the Giants’ second possession.
Daniels, who ran for 103 yards last month against the Giants, beat them with his arm this time. He threw for 249 yards and three touchdowns and remained unbeaten in five starts against them.
The Commanders also own the tiebreaker over the Giants after the teams tied in October. The Giants still lead in the NFC East but the schedule gets tougher, starting with the Jaguars next Sunday.
“This was a huge one,” McCarthy said. “Obviously we had to find a way to find a way to get it done, but we didn’t.”
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
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